Just Be Held
by CriminalOutsider'sGirl14
Summary: Life is about learning how to survive. How to adapt. When I was born I learned how to cry to get what I wanted. At six I learned how to get along with my siblings. At twelve I learned how to survive bullies, Socs, and jumpings. At sixteen I learned how to survive heartbreak and relationships. And at nineteen I learned about the cruelties of being an adult after my parent's wreck.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: A Million Ways To Say I'm Sorry**

 **Just Be Held**

 **Disclaimer: Do I look like I own The Outsiders? No. The real owner of The Outsiders is the best author ever, S.E. Hinton. I also do not make a profit from the stories that I write on this site.**

 **A/N: Please tell me what you think! Criticism is welcome, but no flames please. Flames killed Johnny. ;) Suggestions are always welcome, no matter what they might be. Thanks.**

 **~Ages~**

 **Johnny: 16**

 **Ponyboy: 14**

 **Darry: 19**

 **Two-Bit: 18**

 **Steve and Sodapop: 17**

 **Darry _~ Winter, 1966~_** **  
**

"No telivision after eleven o'clock. Sodapop and Ponyboy have school tomorrow and you have work early, so you best be in bed before one o'clock and the boys best be before midnight. I should be home tomorrow sometime around noon-"

" _Mom_ ," I complained roughly, "I've babysat my brothers before. There teenagers. We'll be okay."

She kissed my cheek and I playfully pretended to wipe it off. "I know you will, Darry. Your a good man. Goodbye. I love you all, boys," she called the last part louder so that everyone could hear here her.

Soda was on the phone in the kitchen, so he waved his hand absentmindedly and continued to talk to Sandy. I laughed at him and went into Ponyboy's room.

"You doin' alright on that homework?" I asked him, ruffling his hair. He scowled and combed it back into place, even though there was no one home to see it.

"Yeah. It's just trig," he responded, filling in another answer on his sheet. He began to chew on his eraser unconsciously. I left him to his homework. Trigonometry was not at all my specialty. When I came back into the kitchen Soda had a mock-scowl on his face, but his eyes held no seriousness.

"It's for you," he said to me in a girly sing-song voice.

"Hey, Emily," I answered without even asking who it was, shooting Soda daggers. He just laughed and stuck his tongue out at me childishly.

"Hey, Darry. Can I come over tonight," I could hear her grinning through the phone. I could just imagine her, stretching the phone out as far as it could go into the couch, twirling a piece of dirty blond, caramel tinted hair between her perfectly painted pink nails wearing a black mini skirt. The way that she always talked in the phone.

"Yeah, it's just me and my brothers. You gotta put up with the little twerps for a few hours." I made sure that Sodapop could hear it loud and clear.

Within fifteen minutes she was inside the house, chatting with Ponyboy on his latest book. He was reading _To Kill A Mockingbird_ , one of Emily's favorites, and she was soaking it all up. I had no idea what they were taking about, but both of there faces were animated.

There was suddenly a knock on the door out of nowhere. An uneasy feeling spread down in the pit of my stomach. Nobody I actually wanted to see ever knocked, especially not the gang. Not even little Johnny Cade knocked before entering.

"Hello, Officer," I greeted formally as I opened the screen door slowly, trying to keep the nervousness out of my voice.

"Are you Darrel Curtis Jr.?" He asked. I nodded mutely.

"There is no easy way to tell you this, but there was an accident tonight involving your parents. Single vehicle. There were no survivors."

There was a hundred million ways to say your parents are never coming home, and each way seemed just as painful as the next. Sodapop came up behind me, and Pony and Emily trailed slowly behind him like puppies.

"That's-that's not t-true," Ponyboy trembled. I gulped thickly, biting back my own tears. I knew that my life was forever changed right then. My little brothers were now my responsibilities.

"Somebody from the state will be here to collect Sodapop and Ponyboy tomorrow," the police Officer continued. Emily gasped and put a hand over her mouth.

"I want custody," my voice didn't sound like mine. Did I really just say that? Did I really just agree to giving up football and college? Essentially, did I just give up my life?

Yes, I just did. And looking at my brothers then, now being comforted by my sweet, motherly girlfriend, I felt absolutely no regret. Just the complete soul-sucking loss and emptiness that we all felt.

* * *

That night, Emily laid in bed next to me, naked and rubbing my back as I cried.

"Superman only saved people a little percent of the time. Mostly, he was just Louise Lane," she whispered in my ear. "Superman was human."

 **A/N: Word Count: 812 words**

 **Aufenthalt Gold,**

 **~Alee XxX**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Morning Pancakes, Loud Silence, and Dallas's Reaction**

 **Just Be Held**

 **Disclaimer: Do I look like I own The Outsiders? The real owner of The Outsiders is the best author ever, S.E. Hinton. I also do not make a profit from the stories that I write on this site.**

 **A/N: Please tell me what you think! Criticism is welcome, but no flames please. Flames killed Johnny. Suggestions are always welcome, no matter what they may be. Thank you.**

 **Darry _~ Winter, 1966~_**

Emily was still asleep next to me when I woke up that morning. I slid out carefully, trying not to wake her, and saw that Sodapop and Ponyboy were both up already.

I didn't say anything, I just mechanically began cooking breakfast. I threw together some pancake mix together and poured it onto the pan. I heard my bedroom door open and out walked Emily.

"I'll give you guys some time alone," my girlfriend whispered into my ear gently. "But I'll be back tonight, okay." I nodded mutely. She said a quick goodbye to my little brothers, who sat like rock hard statues, and left for her house, if you could even call it that.

At the kitchen table, eating, I wished for anyone to say anything. Silence, dead silence, is extremely loud, even louder than kids screaming. It eats at you; you feel it and know that it's there, but you can't seem to make it go away no matter how much you want to speak.

"How we gonna tell the gang?" Finally, thank God that Sodapop spoke. It just wasn't what I wanted to hear.

"I'll have 'ta phone them, I guess," I answered finally.

 **Third Person (Hours Later)**

" _What_?" Dallas drawled incredulously at the news Two-Bit delivered to him, stunned silent.

"Darry told me himself, man. I'm real sorry. You wanna head over to the Curtis's? They probably need some company right now, Dal," Two-Bit consoled, actually making sense for once in his life. Dally stormed off, frustrated, and stomped suspiciously towards the direction of Bucks' Bar.

"Naw, man. I'll catch up with you guys an' 'em later," the blond-haired teen lied in a hard voice over his shoulder.

Johnny and Two-Bit watched as Dallas continued walking angrily. He wasn't angry at any one person, but just angry at the world for being so gosh darn unfair.

Dally wished that he had at least said something to Johnny before he stormed off without concern.

 **A/N: Thank you to Amanda for her help in this story! She is always so willing to help me, so thank you so much! :)**

 **I'm posting this in here so that I do not get reported:**

 **\- Pretty please** **requests some stories or one-shots! Get creative. Whatever you want. OC's, male/female pairings, depression, fluff, I'll do anything. Just request it! Thank you.**

 **Word Count: 502 Words**

 **Aufenthalt Gold,**

 **~Alee XxX**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Identifying Pain and Loss**

 **Just Be Held**

 **Disclaimer: Do I look like I own The Outsiders? The real owner of The Outsiders is the best author ever, S.E. Hinton. I also do not make a profit from the stories that I write on this site.**

 **A/N: Please tell me what you think! Criticism is welcome, but no flames please. Flames killed Johnny. Suggestions are always welcome, no matter what they may be. Thank you.**

 **Darry _~ Winter, 1966~_**

That afternoon, with the gang present in our living room, I was able to slip out with just a quick, "be back in an hour or so," without any further questions from my brothers or the gang.

I braced myself for the sight I was about to see while I walked through the front door of the coroner's office. I was taken to a dim room in the back of the brick building. There were two sheets lying over two figures, and when the coroner pulled back the sheets my hand went over my mouth and my knees almost gave out. I barely made it to the nearby trash can before I vomited.

The sight of my dead parents lying there on the tables were permanently engraved into my memory. Their bloodstained, bruised faces would haunt me in my nightmares for as long as I lived.

"It's them," I choked out the obvious, nodding wearily. The coroner clasped me on the shoulder, but then left me alone to collect myself.

After a few minutes I got to my feet and robotically trudged out to my empty truck. I let out a frustrated scream once in the privacy of my own, familiar surroundings. I punched my steering wheel until my knuckles bled, and when I was able to focus on the pain of that instead of the pain and loss of my parents and heroes, I buried my face into my hands and began to sob brokenly.

* * *

I heard the gang's loud, bragging voices before I even opened the screen door.

"...Sodapop's name has been written in the girl's locker rooms since before middle school..."

"I'm pretty sure it's written in the boy's locker room too," I heard Steve declare loudly. There was a scuffle and then a loud " _ow!"_ comingfrom Steve. I forced a smile before waking inside. I saw Sandy sitting in on the couch with Sodapop, hand-in-hand.

"Where you been, Superdope?" Two-Bit asked. I shook my head tiredly.

"I'm going to bed," I mumbled with a half-hearted wave, hiding my knuckles and red eyed.

 **A/N: I've rewritten this chapter a hundred times, and I'm still not completely satisfied with it. I hope you enjoyed it and that it was better than I thought it was.**

 **Word Count: 482 Words**

 **Aufenthalt Gold,**

 **~Alee XxX**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Staying Out Too Late**

 **Just Be Held**

 **Disclaimer: Do I look like I own The Outsiders? The real owner of The Outsiders is the best author ever, S.E. Hinton. I also do not make a profit from the stories that I write on this site.**

 **A/N: Please tell me what you think! Criticism is welcome, but no flames please. Flames killed Johnny. Suggestions are always welcome, no matter what they may be. Thank you.**

 **Darry _~ Winter, 1966~_**

"Darry! Sodapop! Darry!" My head snapped up from the bills as I heard Ponyboy's voice in the distance outside. He was suppose to be home from the movies an hour ago! Blast it.

I flew out the front door, along with Soda, Two-Bit, Steve, and Johnny. Dallas must've been in around there somewhere because he met us where Ponyboy was, surrounded by fours Socs with a switchblade pressed against his throat. I landed all over that Soc in a fit of anger and fists. How dare they pick on my little brother, who never did anything to them and was probably about half of their size.

"What on earth were you thinking?" I demanded in my listen-to-me-or-else voice that Mom, but never Dad. has used on us. He stared at his worn-out tennis shoes while I continued lecturing, trying to get him to understand how much I cared.

"If-If you had to walk by your lonesome, you shake have at least carried a blade," I spat. Sodapop gave me a long, cold stare.

"That would have been just the excuse those Socs needed to cut his neck there a little more," he tried to reason, but I wouldn't listen to him.

"Hey, if I want my kid brother to tell me what to do with my other kid brother I'll ask you, alright, kid brother," I turned on my heel and walked back into the house, shaking my head. That kid won't ever learn, and that's what scares me, with the Social Services breathing down my neck all of the time. He won't ever learn with that knack for trouble he's got.

* * *

"Where on earth is that kid? I said one movie, Soda, one movie," I demanded.

"If you keep pacing you'll wear a hole in the floor," Sodapop deadpanned. I glared and sat down, but my knee bounced quickly.

"He probably just lost track of time or somethin' else careless," Soda assured me, laying his head back on the arm of the couch. "It is Ponyboy that we're talking about."

But it was the "or something" and "careless" that stuck with me.

 **A/N: Please pray for my cousin. She just admitted herself into a mental hospital this weekend and she needs a lot of help. She also has a one year old baby. Thanks guys!**

 **P.S. This story will be severely AU. And Sodapop and Steve are 18.**

 **I'm sorry about the sucky-ness of this chapter. I hope you liked it.**

 **Word Count: 522 Words**

 **Aufenthalt Gold,**

 **~Alee XxX**


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